WASHINGTON D.C. - A powerful line-up of speakers and panel participants from the corporate world, politics and academia is shaping up for The Progress & Freedom Foundation's 11th Annual Aspen Summit August 21-23. In light of the upcoming July 4th holiday, PFF has decided to extend by one week the early-registration discount to July 8.

Political leaders include both federal and state officials. House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) will open the first full day of the Summit with his thoughts on communications reform. In addition, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R), a well-known figure in Washington, will speak at a Monday luncheon. Commerce Department Assistant Secretary and Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Michael Gallagher will make a return appearance at the Summit, as will U.S. State Department Ambassador David Gross. U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) has been invited to open the Summit in his home state.

The business community will also be well-represented at the Aspen Summit. Sun Microsystems President Jonathan Schwartz will open the summit Sunday night. Warner Music Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., will offer a midmorning address Monday. Intuit President and CEO Steve Bennett speaks at a Monday luncheon, and Nortel Networks Vice-Chairman and CEO William Owens opens Tuesday's discussion. Other key leaders include Vonage Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Citron, Verizon Communications Executive Vice President & General Counsel William Barr, SBC Communications President Forrest Miller, Hewlett Packard Chief Strategy & Technology Officer Shane Robison, FX Networks President & General Manager John Landgraf, Paramount Network Television President David Stapf and Microsoft Vice President for IP & Licensing Marshall Phelps.

Academia and the commons movement will also be represented at the Aspen Summit. Featured on the agenda are Pamela Samuelson, professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) and the School of Law; and Kevin Werbach, a former FCC official and now an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

"The Progress & Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit never fails to attract a diverse and stimulating mix of thought leaders," says PFF President Ray Gifford. "We anticipate a great deal of insightful conversation and give-and-take at this year's Summit, which is engaging head-on the timely debate over the role of property rights and commons in the digital age."

This year's theme is "Building a Digital Ownership Society: The Place for Property and Commons." Aspen participants on numerous panels and working dinners will discuss the tension in policy between those who value property as a cornerstone of economic growth and those who would seek to instead convert everything from spectrum to communications facilities to digital content into a public commons.

Further details about the 2005 PFF Aspen Summit can be found on our web site. Registration can be performed online, and a discounted rate is available through July 8th.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.